Chromatic Aberration effect

Colour fringing that grows from the centre of the lens outward, or a hard RGB split.

Made with the Chromatic Aberration filterWorks in

Chromatic aberration effect on a portrait of a woman in white sunglasses with a lollipop, made with the Chromatic Aberration filter in Filter Archive (Hard Split preset)

BeforeAfter

Chromatic Aberration covers both things the name means. Split pulls the colour channels apart for the graphic RGB look designers want; Lens copies what real glass does, with green and magenta fringes that are zero at the centre and grow toward the corners.

3presets
13settings
3apps

Same effect, different presets.

8 photos, each with its own preset. Try it on yours

Chromatic aberration effect on a portrait of a woman in a red jacket on a blue background, made with the Chromatic Aberration filter in Filter Archive (Soft Split preset) — Soft Split

Chromatic aberration effect on a portrait of a man with spiky red hair on a blue background, made with the Chromatic Aberration filter in Filter Archive (Soft Split preset) — Soft Split

Chromatic aberration effect on a portrait of a woman with silver hair and blue sunglasses by the sea, made with the Chromatic Aberration filter in Filter Archive (Hard Split preset) — Hard Split

Chromatic aberration effect on a portrait of a woman with red hair in chrome sunglasses, made with the Chromatic Aberration filter in Filter Archive (Hard Split preset) — Hard Split

Chromatic aberration effect on a portrait of a woman with silver chains on a grey background, made with the Chromatic Aberration filter in Filter Archive (Soft Split preset) — Soft Split

Chromatic aberration effect on a portrait of a laughing woman with pink curly hair, made with the Chromatic Aberration filter in Filter Archive (Hard Split preset) — Hard Split

Chromatic aberration effect on a portrait of a woman with copper red hair, made with the Chromatic Aberration filter in Filter Archive (Soft Split preset) — Soft Split

Use the chromatic aberration effect in Photoshop, Affinity or Figma.

One licence covers all three: $9.99 a month or $59.99 once. See pricing

Photoshop

Open Filter Archive from the Plugins menu, pick Chromatic Aberration and press Apply. The result lands on a new layer above your original.

Mac & Windows · Photoshop 2024+

Affinity

Choose Filters, Plugins, Filter Archive on a pixel layer, pick Chromatic Aberration and apply it to that layer.

Mac & Windows · Affinity 3

Figma

Select an image, frame or shape, run Filter Archive and apply Chromatic Aberration as a new layer or in place.

Figma Community

Settings worth touching.

KindKind: Split is the graphic channel shift designers mean; Lens is the fringing real glass makes.
OffsetSplit: How far the outer colour channels travel.
SoftenSplit: Blurs only the shifted channels, so the picture keeps its structure while the colour bleeds.

Plus 10 more in the panel, all editable after you pick a preset.

Chromatic Aberration Effect questions.

What is a chromatic aberration effect?

Chromatic aberration is colour fringing: red, green and blue light focus in slightly different places, so edges pick up coloured outlines. As an effect it is used subtly for a vintage lens feel, or pushed hard as an RGB split glitch.

How do I make a chromatic aberration effect in Photoshop?

Open Filter Archive from the Plugins menu and choose Chromatic Aberration. Start from a preset such as Hard Split or Soft Split, adjust the settings while the preview updates, then press Apply. The result goes on a new layer and your original stays untouched.

Can I use it in Affinity or Figma?

Yes. The same Chromatic Aberration filter runs in Affinity 3 on Mac and Windows, from Filters, then Plugins, then Filter Archive on a pixel layer, and in Figma on an image, frame or shape. One licence covers Photoshop, Affinity and Figma.

Which presets come with Chromatic Aberration?

3 presets: Hard Split, Soft Split and Kit Zoom. Every setting stays editable after you pick one, and you can save a stack of filters to use again.

Can I change the colours?

Chromatic Aberration keeps the colours of the picture you run it on. To recolour the result, stack it with a filter that has its own palette, such as Thermal or Bitmap, in the same panel.